As a bale is being formed in belt-type machines, the belts which apply compactive pressure to the bale during its growth also impart a driving, rotative force to the bale so that the bale rolls in the baling chamber and progressively accumulates additional layers of crop material about its periphery. The belts tend to abrade the bale to a certain extent and to slip somewhat relative to the surface of the bale so that some amounts of loose residue are always present. Particularly susceptible are those guide rolls which have belt stretches moving generally toward the rolls and against the surface of the bale. In those situations, the loose materials tend to be delivered by the belt stretches into the vicinity of the rolls and to accumulate in various regions on or about such rolls, sometimes wrapping on the rolls and causing a variety of undesirable problems.
Furthermore, as the bale spins within the baling chamber during formation, its opposite ends rub against opposite sidewalls of the machine and tend to become frayed or fuzzed out. The loose stems of the crop material may become gripped by a nip point formed between the edge of an adjacent belt and the guide roll around which the belt is looped, thus pulling the stems from the bale. However, as the belt moves on around the roll and leaves the point of contact with the roll, the belt releases the material and allows it to accumulate in areas where it is difficult to remove, or to wrap around various moving mechanisms in the vicinity.